Investing.com - The euro remained near eight-month highs against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after the release of mixed service sector data out of the euro zone, while U.S. budget concerns continued to weigh on the greenback.
EUR/USD hit 1.3623 during European afternoon trade, the pair's highest since early February; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3600, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3506, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.3658, the high of February 4.
Official data earlier showed that retail sales in the euro zone rose 0.7% in August, beating expectations for a 0.2% gain, after an upwardly revised 0.5% increase the previous month.
Separately, Markit research group said its final reading for the euro zone services purchasing managers' index rose to 52.2 in September, from a reading of 52.1 in August. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged last month.
Germany's services PMI declined to 53.7 last month, from a reading of 54.4 in August, compared to expectations for the index to remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure as investors continued to weigh the implications of a protracted U.S. government shutdown.
President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday, although a solution still seemed unlikely.
Markets were also considering how the political deadlock in Washington will impact negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury Department has estimated will be reached by October 17.
Moody's Investors Service warned that a failure to raise the debt limit would result in a worse outcome for financial markets than a government shutdown.
The euro was higher against the pound with EUR/GBP gaining 0.33%, to hit 0.8397.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims along with data on factory orders. Meanwhile, the ISM was to produce a report on non-manufacturing activity.
EUR/USD hit 1.3623 during European afternoon trade, the pair's highest since early February; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3600, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3506, Wednesday's low and resistance at 1.3658, the high of February 4.
Official data earlier showed that retail sales in the euro zone rose 0.7% in August, beating expectations for a 0.2% gain, after an upwardly revised 0.5% increase the previous month.
Separately, Markit research group said its final reading for the euro zone services purchasing managers' index rose to 52.2 in September, from a reading of 52.1 in August. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged last month.
Germany's services PMI declined to 53.7 last month, from a reading of 54.4 in August, compared to expectations for the index to remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure as investors continued to weigh the implications of a protracted U.S. government shutdown.
President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday, although a solution still seemed unlikely.
Markets were also considering how the political deadlock in Washington will impact negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury Department has estimated will be reached by October 17.
Moody's Investors Service warned that a failure to raise the debt limit would result in a worse outcome for financial markets than a government shutdown.
The euro was higher against the pound with EUR/GBP gaining 0.33%, to hit 0.8397.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims along with data on factory orders. Meanwhile, the ISM was to produce a report on non-manufacturing activity.